The Savvy Sistahs: A Novel [Paperback]

Brenda Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2003

Amber, Carla and Brandy---known as the "ABCs"---are intelligent businesswomen who met in their business support group "The Savvy Sistahs Who Mean Business" and became the best of friends. They've bonded over lost loves, past hurts, and too many lonely nights. . .

Amber Stuart escaped an abusive marriage and now finds peace running her small bookstore. But when a man passes out in her establishment, after eating one of her homemade cookies, she'll do anything to avoid a lawsuit, even if it means going into his home and nursing this fine brother back to health. What she doesn't know is that this brother is about to turn her life upside down; Raising a two-year-old son on her own and running the computer business she inherited from her father, Carla Osborne doesn't have time for anything else. Then she finds herself the object of a hostile takeover. And it turns out that she's fighting to save her company from the man she had a one-night stand with all those years ago---the man who happens to be her son's father; After a divorce settlement leaves her the sole owner of the St. Laurent Hotel, Brandy Bennett decides to manage her new business full-time. When she finds herself the object of a deranged stalker her family convinces her to bring in a security expert to help. Enter ex-FBI agent, Grey Masters---and with him a whole lot of drama.

Life is dishing it out hard, but these ladies are determined to hold on to each other.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Three Orlando, Fla., women form a friendship club for spiritual inspiration and professional support in this earnest, plodding novel by Jackson (Ties That Bind, etc.). Amber Stuart, Brandy Bennett and Carla Osborne, otherwise known as the ABCs, have been meeting regularly for a year, holding "sistah-circle" gatherings where they share wine and secrets. They have plenty in common: all three are successful businesswomen and all have been done wrong by men. Brandy, owner of a "very prestigious hotel," discovered on the eve of her wedding that her husband-to-be was sleeping with her best friend; she went through with the ceremony, but then showed the incriminating video at the reception. Now someone is stalking her at work, and she must live in close quarters with a hunky ex-FBI agent while he tries to get to the bottom of the mystery. Amber, a bookstore owner, left her husband three years ago after she found him in bed with another woman. Since then she has thrown herself into her work, but when one of her customers-a handsome tax attorney-passes out on the premises, she devotes herself to nursing him back to health. Carla, computer company CEO, is a single mother as the result of a disastrous one-night stand. When her son's father discovers that he has a child, she is willing to let him into her life, but reluctant to let him back into her heart. Jackson's characters are credibly flawed and endearing, but stiff exposition ("Tonight was a time to not only celebrate their success, but also to embrace their growth as women who were finally able to put to rest their deep emotional pain") and canned sentiment make this a lackluster effort.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Three successful entrepreneurs--beautiful, intelligent, and sophisticated--meet at an Orlando support group, "The Savvy Sistahs Who Mean Business." Brandy Bennett, a 33-year-old divorcee, manages and owns a prestigious hotel. When she begins receiving threatening notes, an ex-FBI agent to protect her. Carla Osborne is a 32-year-old single mother and CEO of Osborne Computer Network. Her personal and professional lives are in conflict when a past lover reenters her life and makes her company, her son, and her affections the object of his desires. Amber Stuart is the proud owner of Amber's Books and Gifts and a 32-year-old divorcee. During her store anniversary celebration, a male customer passes out. In order to avoid a lawsuit she agrees to help him convalesce. The situation challenges all of her hard-and-fast rules about relationships and men. As with Jackson's previous novels, this will be a huge hit. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 338 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312315120
• ISBN-13: 978-0312315122
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My Sisters Keeper, October 24, 2003

By 

Dawn R Reeves "tamardi" (Harrisburg, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Savvy Sistahs: A Novel (Paperback)

Simply put The Savvy Sistahs by Brenda Jackson is a girlfriend-to-girlfriend novel with a twist. These girlfriends, Amber, Brandy and Carla, are not lifelong friends that met during childhood and remained friends, they met at a support group for business women in Orlando, Florida and from that forged their own triple bond of friendship.

Each came into the group with their own set of baggage but one thing remains constant, they each have no time or patience for relationships with the opposite sex. Amber is a survivor of an abusive marriage and the owner of Amber's Books and Gifts. Through a divorce settlement, Brandy becomes the owner of the St. Laurent Hotel. Brandy was highlighted in Jackson's novel Family Reunion and someone is back stalking her with ties to that novel. Carla, a single mother, is named CEO of Osborne Computer Network after her father dies and finds her company the object of a hostile takeover.

The men highlighted in this story are endearing as well and also carry some of the same baggage when it comes to relationships with the opposite sex. Cord Jeffries is an accountant and a very bitter man who must learn to let go of the past and judge people as individuals. Grey Masters is a private investigator and ex-FBI agent who has kept a haunting secret from his family about his failed marriage and Jesse Devereau is a west coast corporate raider with no shame to his manipulations and takeovers of successful companies. What role do these men play in the lives of the savvy sistahs?

In true Brenda Jackson fashion, The Savvy Sistahs is a novel about family and the ties that bind, finding love in the most unexpected places and last but certainly not least, new friendships that span the test of time.

Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves
APOOO BookClub

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable contemporary romance, November 7, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Savvy Sistahs: A Novel (Paperback)

In Orlando the three thirtyish ladies met one year ago at a meeting of the Savvy Sistahs Who Mean Business. They became friends and regularly meet to share their business successes. They also share failure when it comes to men.

Pregnant Amber Stuart caught her husband in bed with another woman and went crazy leading to a miscarriage and a divorce. She now owns Amber's Books & Gifts. Just before her wedding Brandy Bennett found a video of her future spouse in bed with her best friend. Using the video as a weapon she gained an immediate divorce with her settlement consisting of the St. Laurent Hotel. Carla Osborne runs Osborne Computer Network while raising her two year old by herself.

Cord Jeffrey chokes on a cookie in Amber's store, sending her in a panic even after he recovers. Brandy hires former FBI Agent Grey Masters when someone begins to stalk her. Carla fights off a hostile takeover of her business led by Jesse Deveraux, the only man she ever loved literally and emotionally. The three relationship failures have found love, but will any one of them realize what they have if they go for it?

Brenda Jackson displays she is a savvy sistah when it comes to successfully providing an enjoyable contemporary romance starring three delightful single women. THE SAVVY SISTAHS contains three prime intermingling story lines as each of the female trio stars in their own respective tale, but overlap just enough so that the audience feels like participants in a cleverly designed plot. Ms. Jackson provides a wonderful novel that gifts fans of strong female protagonists with an integrated charming triad.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Liked It!!, November 1, 2003

By 

thesavvybamalady "swblkdiamond" (Prichard, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Savvy Sistahs: A Novel (Paperback)

I really enjoyed the book! You need some sisters in your corner like Carla,Amber and Brandy. One thing about them is that they took the time out for each other and didn't dog the other when they went celibate.It was moreso a team effort. So I enjoyed it and recommend it!! Get one for your favorite girl!